Columns

Freezer meals are very popular these days, and we all know why.
It seems like we are just too busy to prepare a big meal during the week and it’s so nice to have something ready in the freezer to just pop in the oven and enjoy.
This weekend, I wanted to make a big breakfast, but my daughter had an early basketball game so I didn’t have time to make what I wanted. Thats when I realized, freezer meals shouldn’t just be for dinner, they can be for breakfast, too!

Column as I see ’em …
What does Woodford County have that we don’t have?
No, I’m not talking about an aquatic center. I’m talking about the ability to attract high-paying industrial jobs at a fairly brisk pace.
I cringed at the recent news that Versailles will gain 300 new jobs that average $22 an hour when it landed a cookie and cracker company that will sink $57 million into a factory on a 100-acre tract of land on Big Sink Pike.

This week in Frankfort, your elected House Republicans worked hard to promote something we all should value, transparency in government.
Our caucus attempted to bring the first reading on Senate Bill 45. It would require public disclosure of all retirement benefits for all current and past legislators. SB 45 passed the Senate earlier this session by a margin of 38-0, with all members voting. Unfortunately, the bill did not enjoy the same success in the House and we have not had an opportunity to have discussion on the floor.

I grow weary of adulting.
Adulting (verb) describes acting like an adult or engaging in activities usually associated with adulthood — often responsible or boring tasks.
I think being adult means always getting ready for something and cleaning up messes you didn’t make.
During the work week, I am constantly getting the kids ready, dinner ready, lunches ready, myself ready.

Happy March. I’m pretty sure our weather will continue its roller coaster trend. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls for snow this week, as well as during the days between the 9th and the 23rd, with a little rain mixed in for good measure. If mud were a commodity we’d all be rich.

In the midst of a turbulent outlook for the Kentucky farm economy, tobacco growers, as well as a few tobacco companies, have been inquiring about current burley tobacco production costs and returns. Unlike grains, where input parameters (excluding land rent) are fairly consistent across farming operations, many tobacco budget parameters (labor hours, H-2A vs. domestic labor wages, big vs. small bale, yields, fully depreciated vs. relatively new equipment/infrastructure, contract vs. auction sales) do vary considerably among growers.

Column as I see ’em …
Two things bothered me during Monday’s site based council meeting at the high school, and neither of them involved pajama pants.
The first, and by far the most egregious, was when I saw the site based decision making council walk out of an office en masse before the meeting, an obvious clue that it had a meeting before it’s official meeting, which is patently illegal.

This week, our democracy is mourning the loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia, who was a strong conservative jurist appointed by President Reagan, was found dead at age 79. Justice Scalia’s death was a profound blow for conservative values, and a deeply sad day in our nation’s history. His passing and the loss felt by it highlights the need to elect conservative-minded people to public office, on every level of government.

Let’s celebrate! It’s almost the end of February, spring is less than a month away and life is grand.
Sure there’s plenty of strife and political rancor in the world, but there’s plenty of good too. Science is actually making astounding breakthroughs in medical research, fossil fuel reduction and agronomy. Now, if we could only grow money. Oh wait, we can.